JULY 2023AEROSPACEDEFENSEREVIEW.COM8By Brenda Baker, Director of Operations, AARAs the Director of Operations at AAR Windsor, Brenda Baker leads manufacturing, operations, process optimization, safety, and cross-functional teams to achieve goals and ensure success. She is known as an innovative thinker with strong employee management, compliance, and product design acumen.What are some of the latest trends you have seen in the Aviation industry? Drone technology for mapping aircraft skin dents is appealing. We have seen demonstrations and are eagerly awaiting use of this technology in our maintenance environment.What are the challenges that the Aviation industry is facing, and what initiative have you taken to overcome that? Currently, a significant challenge for the aviation sector is the talent shortage. We have been collaborating with CCAA (Canadian Council for Aviation and Aerospace) for the past three years on a project called industry led training program (ILTP). We've also been discussing with the government recognizing AME's as a skilled trade in Canada, and we believe we are making headway, including recently obtaining financing from the Canadian government to assist with this initiative. ILTP calls for support from the industry as a whole for in-house training for apprentices drawn from local talent. There are a few avenues to obtain an AME Maintenance or Structures license in Canada, either In My OpinionBRIDGING THE TALENT GAP IN THE AVIATION INDUSTRY WE ARE CONSIDERING ALTERNATIVE WAGE STRUCTURES AND OTHER STRATEGIES FOR RETAINING EXISTING TALENT AND ATTRACTING NEW TALENT
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